Lucky 14, page 2
George shrugged again. “He’s also a doctor?”
“Let me guess, plastic surgeon.”
“No, he’s a pediatrician,” George answered.
“Pediatrician?”
George nodded.
“He likes to play with babies?” Sage asked, giddily.
George nodded and smiled at him. “He’s so fine. I’d perform a miracle and carry his babies.”
Sage almost spat wine. He wiped his mouth on his napkin. He laughed. “You’re still crazy.”
“When are you moving into your apartment?” George asked Sage once they stopped laughing.
“In two weeks. I’ve rented an Airbnb not too far from work. My apartment is a new build, has lots of amenities and security.”
“Off street parking?” George asked.
“Yes, I have a parking space on the street and a garage. And it’s only a five-minute drive to the clinic.”
“When will you be able to open your office?”
“In about a month. Most of these offices don’t have furniture. I’m going tomorrow to have a look around and to talk to the building’s manager. Then I’ll have to order everything I need and hire a nurse and maybe a receptionist. And probably someone to handle billing.”
They finished eating, talked a little more, then Sage thanked George for dinner. He left. He would be seeing him at the reunion in a couple of days. The thought that Roman Hill might be there frightened and excited him.
* * * *
It is a pretty big place, Sage thought as the manager in charge of the new medical center showed him around. Some doctors had already moved in and some had just started moving in. It had six floors with ample parking.
Sage’s office was on the sixth floor. Doctors who had non-ambulatory patients got the offices on the first two levels to accommodate wheel chairs. Sage was okay with this. His patients would appreciate the elevator and central air conditioning and heating.
The manager, who identified himself only as Jason, took him up to show him his office and opened the door. Sage’s name and the type of office it was, was embossed on the glass door. The office hours were there, too.
The floors were laminate wood instead of carpet, which Sage was thankful for. The waiting room had twelve chairs across one wall, facing the check-in desk. There was a television mounted on a swivel base on the opposite wall.
Jason took him to the back where he found an administration office with file cabinets. There was a restroom for men and one for women. There were several examining rooms and treatment rooms and two big executive offices, one for him and one for another dermatologist should he decide to take on a partner. Last, but not least was a break room with a refrigerator and microwave and two tables and chairs, and a nurses’ station. Every room was completely furnished.
Jason gave him a catalog to look through for anything else he needed. Now that he had an office address, he could have his suppliers from Korea know where to send things. He was going to pay to have the facial products and tools expedited, hopefully they would arrive in time for the grand opening. Tomorrow he would see about hiring some employees.
Sage was hungry when he left the medical center. He drove out of his assigned parking spot and ended up back at the Airbnb, where he changed out of his suit and into some comfortable clothing. He fixed himself a salad. While he ate, he went over his to-do list in his head. The high school reunion was in a couple of days and he needed to find an outfit and get his hair trimmed and styled. He also needed a manicure and a massage. Call it luck or fate, but Sage found a South Korean facility that could handle all his needs, including clothing. He called and got everything booked for Friday morning, except for the clothing. There wasn’t enough time to get something custom made, so he had to go buy something from the rack. He was sure he would be happy with what he found because this group specialized in selling clothing to K-Pop idols. He left home again to go there and start trying on clothing. By the time he returned he was loaded down with fashionable clothes, shoes and accessories, and some kimchi jjigae, Korean stew for dinner.
* * * *
Roman looked at the glass door of the latest doctor to sign on at the medical center where he worked. And what a funny coincidence. He or she had the same name as one of his childhood friends, Sage White. But his friend, he’d heard, had moved to South Korea to teach English to elementary school children, right after they graduated from high school and he hadn’t heard from him since.
He supposed it could be the same person. And if it was the same one, he wondered if he would be coming to their class reunion. Roman looked at the door again, Dermatologist and Cosmetologist. That wasn’t a great stretch either. Sage had had great skin, while the rest of them were fighting zits in junior and senior high. Even as a child he used to use sunblock and moisturizer. And he wouldn’t be caught dead without sunglasses, a hat and a visor when he went outside.
Roman always thought Sage to be a strange child, but as they got older, he found himself looking at Sage in a different light, and liked what he saw. Of course, back then he kept his feelings hidden because he didn’t want his sexuality to hurt his chances of getting a sports scholarship to a good university. He’d gotten accepted by his hometown college, but he’d fallen awkwardly when he was tackled during a game, hurting his leg and ending his pro football dreams.
He was disappointed at first but while in physical therapy he discovered that a lot of their patients were sports players and needed doctors to care for them. Roman was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a dumb jock. A lucrative job opportunity had been dumped in his lap. He switched from a business major to the school of medicine, studied hard and the rest was history.
Roman walked past the glass door and headed for the elevator. He needed to make it to the tailors before they closed to try on the suit being made for him for the reunion. The problem guys his size had was that they couldn’t just buy clothes off the rack. Maybe he should invest in a big and tall men’s shop. It could be another one of his secondary incomes. He smiled. At thirty-two years old he was a long way from retirement age. He took the elevator down to his car. He wondered if his new next-door neighbor had moved in yet. The new builds were filling up fast mostly with people in the medical field since it was so close to the hospital and medical center.
Plastic surgery facilities were popping up everywhere. Brazilian Butt Lifts, mommy makeovers, breast augmentations, and liposuctions were the current crazes in Miami. But he didn’t have to worry about them moving into his apartment complex because those doctors were getting paid and moving into mansions.
A few minutes later Roman was on his way to the mall where the tailor’s was located. He had the shoes he planned to wear in the back seat so the tailor could make sure the hem of the pants was high enough.
There was a lot of traffic on the streets, which was normal for Miami. He made it to the mall, found a parking spot and got his shoes out of the back seat.
Mr. Charles, the owner of the tailor’s shop welcomed him once he entered. They shook hands. “I have your suit ready. Come with me into the back to try it on.”
There were other people in the front that could mind the shop while Mr. Charles was gone.
Mr. Charles took him to the fitting room. He took a garment bag from a rack and handed it to Roman. “Come out and let me see when you have everything on.”
Roman had purchased other suits from the man and he often got compliments. He entered the fitting room. A few minutes later he stepped out, fully dressed.
“Ooh, that looks nice,” Mr. Charles said. He came over and buttoned the two buttons on the suit coat to get the full effect.
“I like it,” Roman said. The brown color brought out the green in his eyes.
“Then we’ll steam press it to get out the few wrinkles and you can take the suit with you.”
Roman went back into the fitting room and changed out of the suit and got back into his regular clothes. Then he brought the suit out to Mr. Charles. He sat down and waited for his suit to get pressed. Before he left, he had purchased a shirt and tie to go with the suit.
Mr. Charles returned with the suit and a garment bag.
Roman paid for everything with his credit card. He thanked Mr. Charles and left with the garment bag and his shoe box. He was hungry. What he was in the mood for was a salad, a hearty one with some chicken. There was a restaurant close to home that made them up fresh. Then after that he would go home, change into athletic gear, and go for a jog in the park before returning home to shower and eat. Even though his injured leg kept him from running as fast as he used to, he still was able to run at a moderate pace to keep in shape. He practiced what he preached when it came to his patients who had similar injuries.
He made it to the shop for the salad. He purchased two so he could have one in the refrigerator for the next day.
After securing his food, Roman headed home to change. There were others in the park who were exercising as well. Roman went home afterwards. He had no other plans for the evening since it was a weeknight and he had to get up early for work. A couple of months ago he would be spending his afternoon with his ex-lover, Juniper Sanders. But their relationship ended abruptly when he found out Juniper was cheating on him with another guy. Ever since then Juniper had been trying to plead his case and prove to Roman that he was mistaken. It was hard for Juniper to convince him that he was wrong, since he had seen the infidelity with his own eyes.
Juniper was a unique individual, and having a double could be possible, but highly unlikely. And Roman was one of those people who believed that once a cheat, always a cheat.
* * * *
“You sure took your sweet time coming to see us,” Sage’s father James White said when he opened the door and found him standing there. Instead of a handshake, Sage got caught up in a big bear hug. “It’s been fourteen years since I saw you in person and not on a screen.”
He and his father were about the same height now, but his father was more muscular and brawnier. He freed Sage. “You look great. Everyone is here waiting to see you.”
By everyone he meant his two other brothers and sister, and their spouses. And possibly his nieces and nephews whom he hadn’t seen since they were babies. He and his siblings had kept in touch also with phone calls.
Sage followed his father through the family home. He looked around. Not much had changed. There were pictures on the wall of the four siblings, Michael, Christopher, Kristen, and him. There was also wedding pictures. He was the only one still single. Everyone knew and had accepted that he was gay. So, it was a given his dating life would be the topic of conversation, especially for his mother, Mary, who insisted that he find somebody nice to marry and settle down and raise a family. If it was as easy as that he would have done so by now.
They entered the parlor. All conversation ceased.
“Look what the cat dragged home,” his father said playfully. He moved aside.
His mother shrieked, hopped out of her seat and ran over to him and hugged him. “You’re home.”
“Yes,” Sage answered when she stopped squeezing him to death. For a senior citizen, his mother was very strong. His mother went off to check on dinner.
The rest of the family got up and welcomed him. It was just adults, which meant his nieces and nephews so it was going to be strictly adult conversation.
“Dinner is ready,” his mother announced when she reentered the room.
Everyone made their way to the dining room. Something had changed. There was a longer dinette table that could seat more people. Had the kids been there they would have to eat at the dinette table in the kitchen.
“What’s for dinner, ma?” Michael asked.
“Lasagna,” their mother answered. “Sage’s favorite.”
Michael poked his tongue at him. “Mama’s boy.”
Christopher and Kristen agreed with him.
“Grow up,” Michael’s wife Kate said.
“Good luck with that,” Sage said. “I’d gladly swap my place as the youngest to be the eldest.”
“Why?” Christopher’s wife Sara asked.
“Then I can pick on my younger siblings.”
“Then you’d have to get taller, too,” Christopher said.
Sage rolled his eyes at him. Both he and Michael were six-footers, while he and Kristen stood about five-nine. She was considered tall for a girl, while he was considered short for a guy.
Their mother started bringing in the food. Not only was there lasagna, but also salad rolls and green beans. His mother made the best lasagna on earth, with a recipe handed down from her Italian grandmother, Chiara, who was dead long before Sage was born.
As tradition, plates of food were passed down the table from their father and ending with Sage. The same with the salad and rolls.
His mother finally got a chance to sit down and join them after filling everyone’s glasses with Chianti. It was the first time Sage had ever had alcohol with his folks, since he was barely eighteen when he moved away.
Their father made a toast. “To the child who wanted to see the world. Welcome home.”
The others agreed. In the beginning everyone thought he was crazy for wanting to go so far away from home to teach. Sage had wanted the experience, the education, and the opportunity to see and learn about other cultures. And despite what everyone thought life in a foreign country was supposed to be, it was no bed of roses. Being gay in a country that barely understood foreigners, and homosexuality even less, made dating difficult. After learning their language and learning about them made living there easier.
“I can’t believe my baby is a doctor,” his mother said.
“He’s a dermatologist,” Christopher said. “That’s not a real doctor.”
“I hope you don’t fall off that high horse and get cut while I’m around. You’ll be begging for me to bandage you up and I’ll just be ignoring you and waving my medical degree in your face, Mr. Lawyer.”
Sara laughed at their playful banter.
Michael owned and managed a plumbing and electrical company, and his wife Kate was an elementary school teacher.
Kristen worked as an administrative assistant in Christopher’s law firm. Her husband Sean was a computer technician.
Christopher was a divorce attorney, and his wife Sara was a housewife.
It was safe to say that Mr. and Mrs. White did well with their children.
“When are you moving into your new place?” his father asked.
“It should be ready soon, but I’m waiting until the first of the month, which is next weekend,” Sage answered.
“Do you have furniture?” Kristen asked.
“Yes. It is also being delivered that weekend. Right now, the Airbnb is comfortable and meets my needs.”
“I can deliver the stuff you had shipped here that weekend as well since I have a truck,” his father said. “I’ll bring your mother with me so she can see the place. She’s always complaining that I never take her anywhere.”
His parents had retired early from corporate America at the age of sixty-two. And as far as he knew they had taken several cruises so far.
“She’s just coming to see if you’re living with your boyfriend,” Kristen said.
“What boyfriend? I have been in America less than a week,” Sage argued.
“Maybe you’ll meet someone at your high school reunion this week, his mother said.
“I doubt that. I was the student council president. That spells geek in any language,” Sage said. He went back to eating his food. “How are the kids and where are they?” he asked his siblings.
“They’re fine,” they all answered.
“We’ve pawned them off to the other grandparents so we could spend the evening with you,” Kristen said.
That meant they were getting old enough to know what gay was. He wasn’t changing or going out of Florida any time soon. Sooner or later, they would have to meet their gay uncle Sage.
The family spent the rest of the evening in the den watching some reality show that his parents loved.
Sage left early. His mother sent him off with a container of lasagna.
Chapter 2
“Nice suit,” Harrison said to Roman when they met up at the hall where the reunion was being held.
“Thanks. Mr. Charles designed it for me.”
Harrison wore a navy suit that Roman had seen him wear before. As doctors they spent seventy-five percent of their lives in scrubs. Harrison was also a big guy but shopped at one of those cookie cutter big men stores, like Roman had recently joked about investing in. His suit wasn’t bad, but it had no depth or definition.
This was their first reunion. Roman found it odd to have one on their fourteenth anniversary and not the fifteenth. He’d supposed they would go down memory lane rehashing all of the old important events that had occurred from the first day they walked into the school in the ninth grade until they graduated in the twelfth.
The hall was decorated with crepe-paper banners and bells in their school colors of gray, blue, and red. Each table had a blue paper tablecloth.
There were pictures of the student council senior members hanging from the rafters. Each poster had a picture of them as freshman and as seniors. Roman was interested to see how everyone looked now they were in their early thirties.
Others began to arrive. Most of them he recognized because they hadn’t changed a bit. Members of the football team arrived and came over and spoke to him and Harrison, then they sat down at the same table or the one next to them. A lot of them had gone on and had very lucrative careers, but there were others, unfortunately, who were living on the street, were in jail, or dead.
George Wilson, the student council vice president appeared. He was a light-skinned African American, with an average frame, and who stood about five-feet eight. He was one of their classmates who had done well. He was a very popular chef, who had his own restaurant in Miami and participated in many local charity events. He also had his own YouTube channel where he created dishes his fans loved to replicate. George had come out of the closet immediately after graduation. It was hardly a secret. All through school he dressed nice, smelled amazing, and always could be found around a bunch of female students. Tonight, he wore a dark green suit. Roman liked the cut and it fit George well. He figured George worked out regularly, since most chefs he knew were a bit portly. The one thing Roman did know was that George had a big crush on Harrison. He didn’t know if Harrison knew it or not, but George’s smile would just light up every time the two of them crossed paths.
